Past Mistakes
by HD is not High Definition
Summary: It's been years since Ozai's defeat, and it's time for the annual Gaang meeting at the Fire Nation. Aang is all set to propose to Katara, until he hears something from Toph that makes him question his decision. Taang Zutara Sukka
1. Chapter 1

So... I did have a Zutara story, but... I kinda... deleted it (ehehe, sorry?)

To be honest, I do support Zutara, but I have found a new love: TAANG!

So I got this idea from looking at fanart and lots of daydreaming, haha (the best way to think up fanfiction ideas!)

(And as for my Flinx readers, I do assure you, I am not abandoning Flinx, I will continue to write about KF and Jinx as well... I just happen to love Avatar right now. Okay!)

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>It was fairly obvious to say that Aang was madly in love with Katara.<p>

After all, who wouldn't be? And (although he never mentioned it that often), being the _Avatar_, he did have quite a handful of girls to choose from. So it was natural he would fall in love with the beautiful, powerful waterbender.

It was painfully obvious to practically everybody, after the fall of Ozai, that he was going to propose to her, with all the festivities nearing an end. Soon, daily life began to resume for most people, except now, they did every chore and worked hard and toiled for their own purpose, not for some selfish Fire Lord.

Aang circled the world, and helped people and did his usual Avatar duty, repairing what he should have been nearly one hundred years ago. He did, however, stop into the Fire Nation every year for the usual Gaang gathering. And this year… he was prepared.

He was planning on proposing to Katara this time. He had finally settled disputes between Omashu and the Fire Nation, and hopefully, after this year's Gaang meeting, which was conveniently tomorrow, he would be able to do it with Katara by his side for the Water Tribes.

Sokka and Suki had wed, and through many arguments, tears, and whines, they lived the autumns and the winters in the South Pole, and the springs and the summers in Kyoshi Island. Suki was still the captain of the Kyoshi Warriors (leaving everything to the second-in-command when she had to go back to the South Pole), and Sokka was the city architect for both Kyoshi and the Southern Water Tribe. Last anyone heard, Suki was pregnant with... ("It's a BOY!") ("I'm telling you, lumpy-ears, it's a _girl_!")("Excuse me? _Lumpy ears?_") ("You heard me, square-head!")... uh... the two hadn't quite decided yet.

Katara had become the new ambassador for the Water Tribes to the Fire Nation, and it was rare to see her without Fire Lord Zuko lately. The two of them squabbled, fought, and argued over everything, from worldwide affairs to what should be on the menu that night. The two of them were doing… er… well, if you don't notice the scorch marks and stained tapestries throughout the palace.

Let's check in with a certain Master Earthbender, shall we?

* * *

><p>Lao Bei Fong swept through the halls, running into his daughter's room, barking out orders. His wife ran past him, and immediately ran to her screaming daughter's bedside.<p>

"I went the best and quickest doctor here immediately!" he roared. "Something is ailing my daughter!"

"Toph" her mother cried. "Toph, wake up!"

The 16-year-old let out several more sobs until she finally collapsed into her mother's arms, eyes slowly opening.

"Wh- Mom?" she rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Toph," her mother said softly, exchanging worried looks with Lao. "You were having the nightmare again."

"I…" Toph turned away. "Don't worry about it. Sorry I woke everyone up."

"Young lady, this has something to do with the Avatar, doesn't it?" Lao Bei Fong said sternly. "Toph, don't try to keep this a secret from us."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she muttered. Lady Bei Fong gave her a shocked look.

"How could you say that?" she exclaimed. "We're worried about you, Toph. Maybe it's best you don't go to the Fire Nation gathering tomorrow."

"No!" Toph yelled then sighed in aggravation. "Look, I'm fine, I really am. They're just a bunch of stupid nightmares."

"But honey," Lady Bei Fong shook her head. "It's been happening too often lately."

"Is the Avatar torturing you in those dreams?" Lord Bei Fong asked sharply. "Could they possibly be memories?"

"For the last time, Dad," Toph said wearily. "Aang did not torture me and then have me brainwashed so that I wouldn't remember it."

"But-!"

"Toph is tired," his wife interrupted him. "Perhaps it is best to let her rest."

"Yeah, I'm real tired," she yawned, stretching exaggeratedly. "It'd be nice to get in some sleep."

Lord Bei Fong took a deep breath. He would still have some getting used to with this new Toph. When she had come home after the fall of Ozai, the Bei Fongs were just so happy to see her, that they had vowed to let her have more freedom, as long as they could have their daughter. They finally managed to reach an agreement that her friends were always welcome here, and she could practice Earthbending whenever she wish, so long as in public, she gave off the impression of a true lady of noble birth, who quietly sat, and acted like the dutiful little blind girl she looked like.

Of course, it was still a shock to them when she came to dinner covered with dirt. Still, she had been happy, and they merely wanted the best for her.

It would take some getting used to, but every year, they allowed her to travel with the Avatar to the Fire Nation (on the secretly sworn affidavit by Aang that they were going to pick up Sokka and Suki on the way so that they would have some "adult supervision").

"Well… good night, Toph."

"Night!" she shouted loudly, grinning at them both, as they closed the door. As soon as she made sure the light was gone, she sighed and restlessly turned over.

* * *

><p>"The Avatar's here!"<p>

Lao Bei Fong looked out the window, then walked outside. The Avatar was putting his sky bison into the stables, the lemur chirruping as it flew onto the Avatar's shoulder.

"Good job, Appa," Aang smiled.

"Avatar."

Aang immediately whirled around, and bowed respectfully. "Lord Bei Fong."

"A word," he said shortly, and began to walk to his office. After much scrabbling, Aang followed suit.

* * *

><p>"Dreams, sir?" Aang frowned. "I don't know, the spirits don't really tell me much through dreams, mainly through visions. Why?"<p>

Lord and Lady Bei Fong looked at each other, and confirming he was being honest, Lord Bei Fong sighed.

"For the past few weeks, the Lady and I have been at our wits ends," he said in a low voice, lest Toph finish packing early and come to hear. "Our daughter has been having… strange dreams."

"We thought maybe you would know something about it," Lady Bei Fong said softly. "Do you have any knowledge of this, Avatar Aang?"

"Er, no… milady," he thought to add at the end. "I don't know how to send visions, much less through dreams."

The parents gave disappointed sighs. "Very well… enjoy your trip to the Fire Nation."

"If you would pardon me for asking," Aang said quickly, lowering his head. "Why are you telling me this?"

He was more curious than offended; he felt there was more to the story than they were telling him. The couple exchanged a glance, then the man turned to him.

"Dear!" Lady Bei Fong warningly touched his arm. "I don't think Toph would want…"

"He needs to know," Lord Bei Fong said shortly, then turned back to Aang. "We are telling you this because…"

Aang lifted his head. "Because?"

"Because every night," Lady Bei Fong said softly. "We can hear my daughter begging and screaming your name in her sleep."

* * *

><p>"Let's hurry it up, Twinkle Toes!" Toph yelled excitedly as she tossed her luggage at him.<p>

"Oof!" he mock-yelled as it hit him in the gut. "Good to see you haven't ch-!"

He lowered the luggage as he stared at her in shock. "Toph!"

"…yes, that's my name, last I checked," she said sarcastically, punching him in the arm. "Now stop staring, you'll become as blind as me."

He swallowed. "Wh- Have you been missing sleep?" he demanded. "You have dark circles! And you're skinny! So… So skinny…"

He blinked as he stared at her. It had only been a year… a very kind year, he decided. Apparently, Toph's body had been going through a few… changes.

Last year, she was still short, stocky, and built of pure muscle. Now she was… softer was the only way he could put it, although that hardly seemed to describe Toph.

Her hips, which had been square and flat last year were suddenly curvy and accenting her blooming body already, and…

Oh, boy, had it bloomed. It really _blossomed_.

As Aang mused to himself about how Air Nomad poetry had too much to do with flowers, Toph shook her head.

"You try waiting on end for the Fire Nation meeting," she threw at him. "I can't wait to make fun of everyone again. Just like old times!"

He had to admire her; she was _good_. If it wasn't for the Bei Fongs warning and the small glimmer in her eyes, he never would have guessed she was lying. Still, he played along.

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes. "We all look forward to a good old Toph Bei Fong bashing."

She grinned smugly. "Ha! Of course you do!"

"Let's go your royal Basherness," Aang shook his head. "We have to go pick up Sokka and Suki."

"How are Snoozles and Fan Girl doing by the way?" Toph wondered as she climbed aboard Appa.

"Last I heard, they're still arguing about what to name the baby," Aang shook his head. "Sokka keeps insisting it's a boy, Suki keeps insisting it's a girl… eh, you know, the usual."

"Goodbye, Toph!" her mother called. "Be safe!"

"Bye, Mom!" Toph waved as she leaned over the edge. "Bye, Dad!"

"Young lady!" her father called back. "Get back into that thing! And put on the seatbelt, who knows how high it could fly!"

"Over several hundred feet, Dad!" she said cheerfully. "And there are no seatbelts! Yip, yip!"

Her father's indignant yelp was drowned as Appa let out a low groan, and lifting his tail, slammed it down to begin his flight.

"Always wanted to do that," Toph said smugly to Aang's shocked but amused glance.

* * *

><p>They had been flying for a good few hours now. Only a few more, and they could finally land on Kyoshi Island. As they flew, they talked. With Appa being familiar with the route to the large island, Aang could sit in the saddle and chat with the bored Bei Fong girl.<p>

It was nonsensical things really, things that would have made a nobleman sniff at hearing a young Bei Fong lady laugh about with the Avatar.

But the two of them liked it that way; just laughing and goofing off about random things.

"…and before the mayor could squash it," Aang managed out through his roars of laughter. "Momo jumped in and ate it!"

"I _knew_ you were good for something!" Toph chortled, grabbing the lemur in a friendly grasp. "C'mere, you!"

"Wow… there's been a lot of good memories," Aang finally quieted, absentmindedly stroking Momo's fur. Toph nodded in agreement.

"Yup… can't wait to relive them all with the whole group. Man, Sparky's going to go full out when he sees us coming off of Appa."

"Yeah…"

"And Sugar Queen… ha! She'll probably be bawling," Toph smirked. "Good old Sweetness for ya."

"…"

She didn't need to see or even sense to know that Aang was about to tell her something very important.

"Toph," he said hesitantly. "I…I'm planning on asking Katara to…to, you know…"

"…"

"…"

"…wash your dirty socks?"

"…marry me!" Aang said indignantly. Toph shrugged, ignoring the strange, lonely twinge deep within her stomach.

"Eh, same difference."

"Do you… Do you think she'll say yes?" he asked hesitantly. Toph shook her head.

"Why are you asking me?" she snorted. "Honestly, Twinkles, the point of proposing is to ask the girl, not…"

"The best friend?" he supplied.

_Wow… that sounds…__**bittersweet…**_

"Exactly," she laid back, crossing her arms behind her head. "Besides, this is Sweetness we're talking about. She'll listen to you at least."

"That's true," Aang said quietly, and the two sat in the saddle in silence. Toph's mind however, was slightly more muddled than silent.

Sokka was with Suki… Aang was going to ask Katara to marry him… Zuko had that weird… something… with that gloomy Mai girl.

Although it was true that Toph didn't really care for relationships, if there was one thing she hated, it was being the third wheel, being…unwanted. Last thing she wanted was to be the seventh wheel.

Of course, many men had come to the Bei Fong estate to ask for her hand in marriage after the fall of Ozai, but they usually went back, limping and muttering something about the craziness of Bei Fong women.

Was this her destiny? Was she destined to be alone?

Her mind floated to Iroh's words.

_Destiny can be a funny thing…_

_Not this time, Pops_ she thought sourly. _Not this time._

"Uh… Toph?"

"Yeah?" she snapped her head up.

"I've been calling your name for the past minute, and you've been making weird faces," he coughed. "Uh… everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," she said nonchalantly, waving a hand.

"Oh, yeah…? No tiredness? No drowsiness? No…dreams?" he asked challengingly. She glared at him.

"My father's been talking to you."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"He's worried about you," he said firmly. "And so am I. What keeps happening in your dream, Toph?"

"Mind your own business, Baldy," she retorted. "My dreams stay in _my_ head."

And as if to prove her point, she knocked her fist (her rather pale, small fist, Aang noticed for the first time) against her head.

"Come on, Toph," he wheedled. "I'm just asking as a friend. Your parents and I are worried about you."

"Just drop it, okay, Twinkle Toes?"

"Not until you tell me," Aang said swiftly. "If this is Avatar stuff, I have to know."

"Well… it's not!" she crossed her arms, but he shook his head.

"Don't lie, Toph," he said softly. "Come on… what do you keep dreaming about? Do I die or something?"

"No," she answered truthfully. "Y- You're not dead in my dreams."

"Do I…?" he swallowed. "Kill you in your dreams?"

She didn't answer.

"_Toph_."

She finally raised her head and asked him a question. The question chilled Aang to the very bone, as he gazed at her in horror.

"What do you know about a giant, slithering worm who has multiple faces?"

* * *

><p>So... yeah. Um, what do you think? Should I...continue it...?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

So... I know I should be working on "Who Are You", but I'm a little stuck right now, so I decided to go with the ATLA story for now :)

Enjoy~!

* * *

><p>"<em>Toph! Aang!<em>"

Sokka and Suki ran to the landing bison in clear glee, their voices tinged with longing for their old friends.

Well, Sokka ran at least. Suki did a sort of a waddle to Appa, but her voice held as much joy.

"Look at you both! Aang, you're getting so tall!" Suki cried admirably. "And Toph! Have you always looked so-?"

"-girly?" Sokka finished helpfully as the two of them turned to look at the slender, curvy girl. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't be fooled," she warned. "I can still kick your butt if need be, Snoozles."

"I believe you," Sokka put his hands up. "Come on in, guys. We've got some hay for Appa too."

* * *

><p>"So how's Gaoling?"<p>

"Are your parents still trying to get used to you?"

"Have they told the world about you yet?"

"Have you got a…tehehe… boyfriend?"

"Have you heard about Iroh's newest teashop?"

Toph answered each question, as Aang sat back, silently observing the laughing girl. His mind was confused and thrown around as he tried to grasp the situation. He just couldn't understand.

_Why is Koh appearing to Toph?_

He knew one of his past lives' lover's face had been taken by Koh, but that still didn't make sense to him. Why would Koh try to appear to Toph and not Katara?

Koh surely wouldn't attempt to steal the Avatar's best friend's face simply because he was bored.

No, there had to be another power; someone was trying to convince Koh to scare Toph.

_But why Toph?_ He constantly questioned. Everyone knew that he was in love with Katara, and it seemed to make more sense to attempt to frighten her and steal her face than to steal Toph's.

Didn't it?

"Aang?"

"Huh?" he looked up to see the three concerned faces.

"I've been calling your name for the past few minutes," Sokka gave him a weird glance. "You okay?"

"Oh… yeah," he grinned brightly. "Sorry, just… zoned out for a minute there."

"So Aang, what's new with you?" Suki asked cheerfully. Aang turned to look at her, a bright smile on his face.

"Well… I've got some news!" he said excitedly. Toph looked down.

"Yeah?"

"I…" he held out a beautiful blue pendant, the Air Nomad symbol etched into the shining blue marble. "I'm going to propose to Katara."

He expected happiness, congratulations…at least a pat on the back. He didn't expect Suki and Sokka to exchange glances, then smile nervously at him.

"Oh, that's… great!" Suki finally managed, giving him a weak smile. He gazed at Sokka, who was also looking shocked, in a pale, white-faced 'oh boy' shocked way, and not the happy, excited 'you're-my-new-brother-in-law' way.

"Wh- What?" Aang said nervously. "Has she already accepted a proposal from someone?"

"Well… no," Sokka answered truthfully.

"Then what is it?"

"Don't bother, Twinkles," Toph shook her head. Aang turned to her.

"What?"

"Don't listen to what anyone else tells you. You should hear this from Katara herself," Toph said firmly. "For now, I am going to tease, hit and bully Snoozles until I feel my spirits hit the roof."

"Do you guys all know something that I don't?" Aang asked suspiciously, but Toph sent him a glare so fierce, he shut up.

* * *

><p>"You guys can stay here," Suki indicated towards a room. "I've set up an extra mat."<p>

The two thanked her, and wearily plodded in.

"Ahhhh!" Toph collapsed in relief on the bed, yawning widely. "Well, I don't know about you, Twinkles, but I'm pooped!"

"Yeah… um, Toph?"

"What?"

"You… You think it's okay for the two of us to share a room?" Aang asked cautiously. "Your father-"

"Oh, please!" Toph waved a hand. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"But-"

"Besides, what, are you afraid of me peeking on you or something?"

"Well," he defended himself. "A little."

"…"

Aang blushed as Toph waved a hand over her eyes. "…remember?"

"S-Sorry," he muttered. "I forgot."

"Anyways, relax," she shrugged. "I've felt you changing loads of times."

"_…what?_"

* * *

><p>"For crying out loud, Twinkle Toes," Toph rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that night as Aang hid behind a curtain to change. "You actually think I'm going to do something to you?"<p>

"I still feel violated!" Aang protested strongly. "You, er, saw me with your feet!"

"Oh, no," the dark-haired girl responded sarcastically. "I'm such a Peeping Tom. Oh, get over yourself. It's not like I can help it."

"…doesn't that get tiring?" Aang asked curiously as the two laid down in their respective mats.

"What?"

"Being able to see everything, so to speak," he rolled over so that she could hear him more clearly. "You see things you weren't meant to see."

"…" she remained silent. How many times in her life had that happened? So many people, all thinking she was completely blind, thinking she was unable to hear the smirking tone in their voice, mocking her.

"Toph?"

"Once," she hesitated, but decided he probably had a right to know. "Once, I was outside… in the gardens. And…my mother… she was having tea with some of the women from the court. And they… were looking at me."

"Looking at you?"

* * *

><p>-Flashback-<p>

"I must say, Poppy, don't you ever get worried about Toph?"

"All the time," the wealthy woman sighed as she sipped her tea. "She's headstrong… not something a husband of her status is looking for in a wife."

"I'll say. I heard she traveled the world with the Avatar! _Unsupervised_!"

"Scandalous!" another woman gasped. "Aren't she and the Avatar the same age? A boy and a girl, traveling together?"

"How absurd!"

"Nonsense," Poppy protested. "There were others with them, so they were most certainly not alone!"

"But what man will believe that?" the first woman clucked her tongue in sympathy. "Have any suitors come for her yet?"

"Yes, but she turned them all down…"

"I must say… it's a little bit of a shock."

Poppy looked up sharply. "And why is that?"

"Well, what with Toph's… disadvantage… I would assume most men find her a burden, so to speak… thank goodness she's quite attractive."

-End Flashback-

* * *

><p>"You're not a burden!" Aang said indignantly. "You're one of the best fighters I know!"<p>

"Thanks," she muttered. "At least someone thinks so."

"Toph…"

"Well, good night, Twinkle Toes!" she grinned, waving in the dark. "Sweet dreams."

"You too, Toph."

"Hope there's some extra sweetness in there, with Sugar Queen and you-"

"_Toph!_" his face practically glowed red in the dark. "I haven't even proposed yet!"

"Sorry, Miss Prude," Toph rolled her eyes. "Relax, Twinkle Toes, you take this way too seriously."

"Of course I do," he said, the indignant tone returning to his voice. "I love her."

"So tell her that you do, instead of acting like you can tell she's going to reject you."

"Well, how would you know?" he shot at her. "You've never been in love! You never even liked anyone!"

"Yes, I have."

She said it so calmly, Aang almost fell out of his mat. "Wh- What? _You_?"

He wanted to laugh. So he did.

"Who was this guy? Why didn't you get married, then? I bet your parents-!"

"It was Sokka."

He immediately shut up and gaped at her. "Wh- What?"

"Hey, whatever," Toph shrugged. "He married Suki, I accepted my loss, and that was that."

"But…" Aang struggled to hide his surfacing guilt. "Toph… I… I mean, I never knew… I'm sorry."

"Like I said, I got over it, so don't be," she shrugged again. "It's not a big deal; he married Suki, and I get to keep traveling the world."

"Well, then… maybe that wasn't love," Aang suggested. "Maybe you just had a crush on him."

"…yeah," Toph said quietly. "Maybe."

The two remained silent, and eventually, Aang could feel his eyelids slowly getting heavy. He soon drifted off into a nice, peaceful sleep, but before he did, he could have sworn he heard a quiet voice, whispering, "You hypocrite…"

* * *

><p>"Wakey, wakey!" Sokka sang. "Come on, you two!"<p>

Aang let out a low groan as he forced his eyes to open.

"Snoozles getting up before us?" Toph moaned. "I must really be getting too soft."

"Why are we up so early, Sokka?" Aang complained.

"Early?" Sokka exclaimed. "It's past midday!"

"…what?" Aang and Toph simultaneously shouted as they bolted out of bed.

"Let's go!" Sokka yanked the two teenagers out of bed. "Lots of chores to do around here! And you two are going to help!"

"Do you honestly think you can convince the greatest Earthbender alive and the Avatar to do menial housework?"

"We're not doing your stupid chores, Sokka!"

* * *

><p>"I hate this," Toph moaned as she beat the cloth with a stick. If she hung the cloth in the air, she obviously wouldn't be able to see it, so Sokka and Suki merely told her to raise a platform of rock, and to pound it against the slab to dry. Aang, with his ability to waterbend, was forced to actually wash the laundry, some of which consisted of Sokka's disgusting socks and Suki's soiled underwear.<p>

"Remind me to never get pregnant," Toph moaned. "This is torture."

Aang was too even weary to even respond, and he continued to scrub the especially smelly sock that Sokka owned. He sighed as he tossed it into the clean pile after he was done. He was so tired, he didn't even notice something strange until he could hear Toph screeching.

"Twinkle Toes, if this is a joke, you'd better stop!" she yelled furiously as mud began to pool around her ankles. Aang snapped to attention, and suddenly noticed the water in the river swelling to whirl around her feet.

"I- I'm not doing that!" he yelled in panic as he began to bend the water away from her. Toph worked with him, and the two began to bend the mud simultaneously, but it was continuing to swirl unnaturally high around her ankles.

"What…the…" Toph panted furiously as she slammed a fist downwards and began to bend herself away from the mess. She created a tall pillar of rock, but no matter how high she raised, the mud wouldn't stop. It continued to make a 'glop-glop' sound as it reached for her, and Aang realized, with a sudden pang of fear, that the mud definitely could not bend itself.

"Aaaaaah!" With a loud yell, he used Airbending to propel himself above the whole mess, and grab Toph.

"Run!" he yelled nonsensically as he began to fly past the trees.

"You're carrying me, moron!" she retorted loudly as he noted, rather wryly, that she was right, and he was carrying her in a way that made his hand sink into-

"Twinkle Toes, I swear, your heart rate had better be going up because we just almost got glomped by mud."

* * *

><p>The two wearily plod into the room after a sound lecturing from Sokka. He refused to believe the 'magical mud suddenly tried to eat Toph and thoroughly soaked your garments' story, and scolded them for 'cooking up ridiculous goat-bull crap'.<p>

"Well, I think they took that well," Toph said sarcastically as Suki began bawling how her favorite pair of underwear was now covered with mud.

"Thank Roku we're going to the Fire Nation tomorrow," Aang said wearily. "This is getting out of hand."

"…"

"W- Well, I'm going to go-"

"Why?" she asked quietly. "Why is this kind of thing happening to me?"

"…"

Aang purposely looked away.

"You know, don't you?" she glared at him. "Twinkle Toes, if you actually are behind all this-"

"Toph, you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," he interrupted, slightly harsher than he intended. "I don't know why this is happening to you, but I _will_ find out why and I _will_ put an end to it. You're my friend, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Now there's that Avatar spirit," Toph grinned as if relieved, heartily punching him in the arm as she disappeared into her side of the room. "Thanks, Twinkle Toes. G'night!"

He smiled back, a guilty feeling locking into his heart. He hadn't been completely truthful. Although he _did _care about Toph, that was not his main motive. He was going to put an end to this, because it wasn't a good sign. The universe was trying to tell him something about Toph… and as much as he hated to admit it, he was almost wishing Katara was the one who had been getting strange dreams of him, who was getting haunted because of her relationship with him.

If it was Toph who was getting messages…

…what did that mean about their friendship?

* * *

><p>"Aang! AANG! <em>AANG!<em>"

Aang shot up from bed, head whipping wildly. Wha-?

"PLEASE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!"

Toph's whole body racked with sobs as she fought against an invisible enemy, her hands dizzily making the signs of the earthbending he was used to seeing her do so expertly and firmly.

"Toph… Toph!" the panicking monk began to shake her, as Sokka and Suki sleepily came to the door, both looking _very_ pissed off.

"Can't you guys save this kind of thing until tomorrow?"

"Yeah, just because _we've_ done it doesn't mean… hey…What's wrong with her?" Sokka shouted, suddenly realizing what kind of situation it was. Aang ignored him as Suki ran into the room with a flask of water.

"Toph!" Aang finally used his waterbending to bend the whole flask of water straight into her face. She gasped, finally awake, as she wildly looked around with unseeing eyes.

"T-" Before Aang could say anything, she grabbed him by his front, tears mingling with the dripping water. She was shaking, tears sliding down her face to plop onto his torso.

"Don't…" she begged. "Don't let him get me…"

"Toph…" Aang said in stun. He had never heard this scared. Not when she was spitting insults at Azula while the Fire Nation princess had fistfuls of blue fire. Not when she confronted her parents to confess her true side. Not when as a prank he had grabbed her and took a ride on his glider to give her a quick shock. Back then, she had grown angry, defiant, maybe a little shaken.

But this little girl, here…. She could not be the Blind Bandit. She just looked like a scared, timid child.

"Toph…" Aang had a good idea what she was talking about and he gently lowered his mouth so that it neared her ear. "I won't let him steal your face. I promise."

Almost as if in a trance, she visibly slumped, her body relaxing, and soon, her breathing became long again.

Aang checked to make sure she was sleeping, and then wearily rolled over back to his own cot before falling asleep again. Sokka and Suki just stared at the two, then gazed at each other.

"So… back to bed?"

"Race you."

* * *

><p>The next morning, riding on Appa was discovered to be rather dull and a bit of a cranky moment for everyone. Sokka and Suki had dark circles, Aang's eyes were red, and even Toph was silent. Aang, however, perked up at the idea of seeing Katara again. His beautiful, caring bride-to-be. He could hardly wait!<p>

He could also hardly wait to go to a Fire Temple. He needed a word with Roku… and several other spirits.

* * *

><p>"There it is!" Toph shouted suddenly. "I can see it!"<p>

Sokka immediately sat up.

"Where?"

There was a moment of silence, until it was broken by a snort from Toph and a slight giggle from Suki. Sokka flopped down next to Suki, sighing.

"I always fall for that one… come on, Toph, why do you keep tricking me like that?" he whined. She rolled her eyes.

"You make it easy, Sokka."

Luckily, that broke the ice, and soon, everyone aboard Appa was laughing. It might have been due to their exhaustion, but it was still fun to just let loose and laugh. Aang grinned from ear to ear, and couldn't help but to feel grateful to Toph. She really could light up a room.

Or a group of travelers aboard a flying bison.

* * *

><p>"Toph!<em> Aang!<em>"

Katara came running out full-speed, a blur of red.

"Oh, my goodness, _look_ at you two!" Katara gushed. "I've missed you so much!"

"Um, yeah," Sokka said indignantly. "And who am I? The cabbage merchant from next door?"

"Auuugh!" Katara shrieked as she grabbed her sister-in-law and brought her in for a gentle hug. "How are you? How's our little niece or nephew doing?"

"_She_ is doing just fine, thanks," Suki smirked at Sokka, whose mouth dropped.

"Suki! Don't insult our child's masculinity!"

"Why would _she_ have masculinity?"

"Never mind those two," Toph waved a hand. "Where's Lord Sparky?"

"Hey!"

Zuko came running out, almost looking comical in his long, royal robe, which he struggled to clasp as he came out to greet the rest of the Gaang.

"You guys!" he grinned. "You guys are finally here."

"Whoa there Sparky," Toph smirked. "I know I'm amazing, but what's with the overly warm reception?"

"Wh- What are you talking about?" Zuko coughed, face flushing. Toph rolled her eyes.

"I'm blind, and even I can tell your heart rate's going at the speed of a rabbaroo."

Although she couldn't see it, Katara and Zuko exchanged glances before settling for a slight smile.

"You'll see later."

The four walked in, leaving a very pregnant, moody Suki to strangle her gasping husband.

* * *

><p>Toph didn't say anything, but she could hear Aang's heartbeat erratically jumping as she unpacked. She could sense his trembling vibrations from her room (given he was right next door, but still, those walls were pretty thick). Shaking her head, she sighed, then walked to his door. After knocking firmly three times, she walked in without bothering to wait for an answer.<p>

She didn't need to rely on sight to know that Aang was gazing at the betrothal necklace.

"I guess… you're asking later?" Toph asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

"I'm scared, Toph," Aang swallowed. "I'm scared she'll say no."

"Look, Aang…" he knew from that tone and his real name that she was going to say something serious for once. "I know you're scared, but you don't have anything to lose. Whether she says yes or not-"

"-I want her to say yes!"

"-at least you know you've tried and she'll know then."

"Toph…"

"Eh, good luck with Sugar Queen, Twinkles," she smirked at him. "This should be interesting."

"Toph, I… thanks," Aang said sincerely. He had been inwardly hysterical, but Toph's firm, grounded logic was slowly sinking in. "I'll… see you at dinner."

"Yup. Later."

* * *

><p>It was nice to have the whole Gaang together again, eating and joking with each other. They were adults now… too late. They had lost their childhoods and awkward teenage years fighting a war, but now, it was going to catch up to them.<p>

"Hey, Sparks," Toph called after everyone scraped their plates. "What happened to Tall, Dark, and Gloomy?"

There was a slight moment of silence, until Zuko managed to answer in a strained voice.

"She… She left. She wasn't quite… accustomed to the Fire Nation palace life."

"But she's a noble, isn't she?" Sokka argued. "Why would-?"

"Sokka, drop it!" Katara ordered, and even Aang was surprised at the biting tone in her voice.

"But-!"

"Here's the dessert!" Zuko said in relief as the servers brought in small bowls of bread pudding.

"Finally!" Sokka dug in, forgetting about his earlier question. Aang took a deep breath, and Toph held hers.

"Wait… Since we're all here, I have something to announce."

Sokka dropped his spoon, and he and Suki exchanged glances again. Ignoring Zuko's confused gaze, Aang walked around the table until he stopped at Katara's seat. Sensing the vibrations, Toph felt Aang shakily getting down on one knee.

"Katara… I've never been in love with anyone else this much in my whole life. Would you marry me?" he smiled softly, holding out the sparkling betrothal pendant. Katara gasped.

"O- Oh, Aang, it's beautiful!"

"So… you will?" he asked eagerly, hopping to his feet. He was met with a helpless gaze from her… and a rather furious gaze from Zuko.

"Katara," Zuko started, but the waterbender raised a hand, mixed emotions flashing through her face.

"I got this," she took a deep breath. "A- Aang… I'm flattered, I really am, but…"

"But what?"

"But… I can't marry you," Katara managed in one breath, her eyes flashing with guilty tears. "I- I'm so sorry, Aang, you must have worked so hard on the necklace, and-"

"Why?" Aang cut her off, his voice portraying his hurt and confusion. "I don't understand… I thought… I thought…"

His voice lowered to a shamed, stunned whisper. "I thought you loved me."

"I do!" she said hurriedly. "Just not… Just not-"

"Not as a man?" he finished bitterly. Katara reached out to him.

"Aang, I'm sorry, but… I… I'm in love with Zuko."

There was a small moment of stun. Until…

"_Zuko_?"

"Sparky!"

"Oh, hell no!" Sokka gnashed his teeth.

"You knew," Aang said simply to everyone at the table. Everyone turned to look at the slumped, hunched-over boy as he carefully hid his face from them.

"Aang…" Zuko couldn't hide his guilty expression. "Look, Katara and I only met with our feelings a few days ago… we were just going to announce it to everyone later today… we didn't know you were going to propose."

"Everyone knew, though, didn't they?" Aang kept his voice stoic, cold. "Did everyone know that Katara and Zuko were having their little love affair while I wasn't even clued in at all?"

"Aang," Katara spoke softly, trying to conceal her hurt. "Aang, I know you're upset, but-"

Toph frowned as she slowly stood up and backed away. Something was about to go down… something was wrong with the air… the feeling of the earth… it almost felt like… She froze. She had experienced being in this situation once before and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Upset…?" he whirled around, and to everyone's shock and horror, his eyes began to glow.

"_Upset?_" he roared, his voice magnified with the sound of other Avatars' fury coming out of him as he slowly began to rise in the air, the Avatar State awakening in him. "You were all laughing at me, behind my back, while you went into Zuko's arms, weren't you?"

"Aang! Please, calm down!" Suki managed to yell over the tornado that was threatening to take over the room, bread pudding and chairs flying around the cyclone that was forming.

"_How dare you_?" Aang shouted. "How could you all keep this a secret from me?"

"Katara, stop him!" Sokka bellowed. "You're good at this!"

"Aang!" Katara cried, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Aang, please, stop!"

He ignored her, however. She was the source of his anger now, and he was too upset to think otherwise. She tried to step near him, but was blown away by the force of air pressing against her.

Toph gritted her teeth. If Twinkle Toes thought that he was going to push _her_ away with a blast of air, he had another thought coming.

"Outta my way!" she yelled and dove into the tornado. It was strong, but she dug her feet into the ground, remembering to keep her stance steady. Finally, she managed to reach the eye of the tornado, where Aang hovered. Toph frowned.

_Probably should have thought this through… can't exactly feel him when he's not touching the ground. Oh, well…_

She glared up at the air (she was actually looking at about 6 inches to the left of Aang, but oh well) and put her hands on her hips.

"You _wuss_!" she shouted over the din. "Did you think Katara would mother you forever?"

If anything, the tornado grew stronger. Toph sighed and began to grasp around in the dark, until she finally felt her hand come in contact with something. It turned out to be his leg, but it was a better guide than nothing (and beside, he was floating, so she couldn't really grab any higher).

"Look, Aang!" she screamed up at him in case he couldn't hear her over the howling wind. "I know you're mad, but… we didn't tell you not because we thought you couldn't handle it! We didn't tell you because it's none of our businesses! At least you heard the whole truth from Katara! Isn't that what's most important?"

For a minute, she thought he was ignoring her, but then his face snapped to look at her, lined with horrible, furious anger, raw power emanating from his body. Toph, couldn't see it, but holding on to his leg, she could sense the uncontrollable power he possessed. A little fearfully, she looked up into his glowing-white eyes… which seemed to wake Aang up a little. His expression relaxed and he suddenly looked as scared as Toph felt. Seeing the short girl, with so much life, so much carefree attitude, so much freedom, look up to him with fear flashing in her empty eyes, he realized what he was putting his friends, his _family_ through. Slowly, he descended, before finally landing in a puff of air. He tiredly gazed at his surroundings, which were almost completely destroyed.

_Stupid… you mastered the Avatar State so long ago… and you're still losing your temper at times like this_.

Toph did not cuddle him. She didn't gently cradle him the way Katara did after he lost control of the Avatar State. She threw her arms around him, a firm embrace, as if to make sure he wouldn't fly up again.

"Aang…" Katara edged towards him, eyes swollen with unshed tears. "Aang, please…"

"Katara," he turned away from her, breaking out of Toph's hug. "Please… Please just let me be by myself for now."

The Avatar slowly retreated to his room… but not before he whispered something quick to Toph. She nodded and responded with "After I fix the room."

He cast a sad, longing look to Katara (he refused to spare Zuko a glance), and stomped out. As soon as he was gone, Toph began to repair the room with her earthbending. She couldn't fix the chairs and furniture, but the walls and floor were repairable at least.

"I… I didn't think Aang would be _that_ mad," Sokka said in a hushed tone. "Not enough to trigger the Avatar State."

Zuko lowered his eyes. "He really loves you," he murmured to the distraught Katara.

"Oh… I love him too! Just not the same way!" her voice was choked with sobs. "What do I do?"

Toph quietly left the room without anyone noticing. The shattered betrothal pendant lay on the floor, forgotten and ignored.

* * *

><p>Lol, that took a turn for the worse apparently... Sorry, I just really wanted a scene where for once, Aang rejects Katara in the Avatar State and Toph's the only one who can calm him down... cuuuute, isn't it? :P<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Toph wandered out of the dining hall, before letting out a loud sigh. She headed straight for Aang's room, where he had asked her to meet him. She paused at his door, hesitating, then shook her head.

She was Toph Bei Fong, and she would sooner sniff Sokka's funky smelling sleeping bag (well… maybe) than back away from something out of fear.

She firmly pounded on Aang's door, and it creaked open slowly.

"Geez, Twinkle Toes, you couldn't light a lamp or something?" Toph complained. "I can't really see too well in here."

He glumly raised his head, ignoring her joke. "Hi, Toph…"

She sighed before planting herself on the ground. "Look, Twinkle Toes… you should probably know, Katara and Zuko weren't really together… but we could all kind of tell that they had a flame going on."

"So you didn't tell me because you wanted me to find out the hard way," Aang finished quietly. Toph shook her head in frustration.

"It wasn't for the hard way!" she protested. "It was because it's none of our businesses, Aang! What right do we have to tell you that Sugar Queen wanted a piece of Sparky?"

"…you're right," he sighed. "The monks always used to say, 'Better a life of unknowing bliss than one of a dark truth'. I guess… I guess…"

To Toph's surprise, he actually began to sniffle. She shifted awkwardly. She was never good with crying people, even if it was her best friend.

"I love her," he said softly. "She can't understand… if she knew just how much, she wouldn't choose Zuko… why Zuko? _Why_? She hated him more than I did! I did more for her!"

"Look, Aang… I can't tell you why Katara chose Zuko, or why she doesn't love you more, or whatever goatbull crap you were spouting earlier," she said offhandedly in true Toph Bei Fong fashion. "But… I can tell you that throwing Avatar tantrums and crying to her isn't going to solve your problems. You went out of control, and I thought I only had to use that line for Zuko."

"But-!"

"No buts!" she retorted sternly. "You need to sort out your feelings for Sweetness, or you're going to end up blowing us all through the roof!"

Aang slumped, knowing that Toph was right. He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"So… So what do I do?" Aang raised his head, his swollen eyes meeting her unfathomable ones.

She shrugged, a clever smirk spreading on her face. "I don't know… write her a poem? Give her flowers?"

He stared. "Poem? Flowers…?"

"The maid's been reading _Passions of the Fire Nation_ to me nightly," Toph explained, eyes gaining a slightly starry look.

Aang shook his head. "I don't know that seems... not really my style."

"Well, yeah... according to _Love in the Air, _Air Nomads seem to enjoy sweet, gentle love," Toph crooned jokingly, but Aang did notice how her lips seemed very pink and full and quite soft...

"Isn't that nice, though?" he asked, trying to avert his eyes.

"...I'm just saying, if _Passions of the Fire Nation_ is realistic and that's how Fire Nation people have romances, then oh, boy, is Sugar Queen in for a wild ride," she smirked.

He threw his hands up. "Sometimes, I think you're just not on my side."

"Hey… I'm not taking sides in this battle," Toph shrugged nonchalantly. "I have my own problems."

"…Like Koh?" Aang said slowly.

Toph visibly stiffened. "Koh…?"

"The… monster," Aang swallowed. "The worm with many faces… I'm pretty sure you're talking about Koh, the face-stealer spirit."

"He's a _spirit_?" Toph's voice proclaimed disbelief. "Well, what does he want with me?"

"I… I don't know," he said honestly. "I… I think there's someone else in this. Koh can't be the main spirit pulling the strings. He wouldn't steal your face for fun, and he normally doesn't really care or meddle with humans."

Toph remained silent for a moment, bangs covering her eyes in an unfathomable shadow… until…

"Twinkle Toes."

"Huh?"

"Could… Could you do me a favor?"

* * *

><p>"Come on…"<p>

"_No._"

"Just admit it," Aang said in a teasing tone. "You're scared."

"I am the Greatest Earthbender alive!" Toph retorted. "I'm not afraid of anything, and don't you forget it, Twinkle Toes!"

"Then why are you sleeping in my room tonight?"

It was from years of keeping a poker face in front of her parents that helped Toph to hide the blush that was threatening to peek out. Aang had agreed to let Toph camp out on his floor for the night with the rug and some blankets, and although he couldn't see her, she was glaring up at him.

"I had to ask you some questions!" she shot back defensively. "It has nothing to do with fear!"

"Questions…?" Aang asked in surprise. "Questions like what?"

"Well…" Toph hesitated. "Can you tell me more… about Koh?"

Aang's expression changed to one of surprise, then worry, then finally settled on discomfort.

"Why… Why do you want to know about Koh?"

"Hey… I'm getting dreams that the worm's stealing my face," Toph said coolly, hiding the squirm she felt deep inside just from thinking about it. "I think I have the right to know a few pointers on him."

"Well… I only met him once," Aang said hesitantly. "I needed some information about the Ocean and Moon spirits, so I had to meet him… Roku told me that if I didn't want my face stolen, though, I had to show no emotion… that was pretty hard."

"Did he show you all the faces he had?" Toph asked, and again, it was from all the years of personal training that managed to hide the quiver in her tone. Aang shrugged in the dark.

"Some… he showed me a past Avatar's face he stole… an old man… even animals… Ummi…"

"Ummi?"

"She was the lover of Avatar Kuruk, the Avatar before Avatar Kyoshi," Aang explained. "Kuruk was… kind of mischievous… Koh was ordered by the spirits to punish him by stealing Ummi's face before the two could get married."

"…yeah, that definitely would never have happened in _Passions of the Fire Nation_."

Aang couldn't help a chortle. Just a small snort of laughter, but still… Toph was happy. He was no longer thinking about Katara.

_Why does it make you __**that**__ happy?_ A sly voice whispered in her mind, but Toph ignored it. She was _not_ going to go there… she couldn't.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Aang said, and his voice sounded much lighter. "Thanks for the talk, Sifu Toph."

"Yeah, yeah, nighty night, Twinkle Toes," she rolled over, and lightly swallowed. So that was the name of the woman with the long, flowing hair. In her dreams, although she would never dare to mention it to Aang, Koh always used Ummi's face to taunt her, speak to her in a dangerously soft tone… and then in her dream, he would suddenly switch faces again… only to use a face she realized, in horror, was her own. And with her own mouth, he would taunt her with a single word:

_Soon_.

_Soon… Soon, Toph Bei Fong._

* * *

><p>Toph whimpered slightly, but clasping onto the warm comfort that was her makeshift bed calmed her slightly. She snuggled into the thick warmth of what she deduced was her blankets, marveling how the Fire Nation managed to get their sheets to smell like…<p>

_Citrus fruit and sky-bison fur…?_

Her eyes popped open in surprise as she suddenly realized that her "blankets" had a heartbeat.

_Aang? What is he **doing**?_

She suddenly realized that that must've meant that he was lying next to her. On the ground. Sharing a blanket. She managed to withhold a shriek but couldn't stop herself from punching the floor, causing a large pillar of earth to forcefully shove Aang several inches into the air.

"Ow!" he hollered, suddenly awake with a rather large bruise on his rib. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"What's wrong with _me_?" she bellowed right back. "I didn't go crawling into _your_ bed! What are you doing on _my_ floor?"

Aang winced as he rubbed his bruise tenderly. "…You were crying in your sleep."

Toph's hard as rock glare softened. "What did you say…?"

"You were crying and it sounds like you were trying to get away from something, so I just came down to comfort you a little," Aang said defensively. "I guess I fell asleep."

Despite his innocent intentions, he couldn't stop the heated blush tingeing his cheeks. "S- Sorry, Sifu Toph."

"Yeah, well…" Toph coughed uncomfortably, then immediately put on her strong face again. "Don't do it again, Twinkles!"

"Y- Yeah… sorry," he murmured. She averted her eyes coldly, until she finally sighed.

"Sorry about that bruise," she muttered. He shook his head, managing a painful smile as blood began to slowly drip out.

"It's okay. I'll just get Katara to-"

He stopped. Talking about Katara hurt. In fact, _thinking_ about Katara hurt.

"Geez…" Toph grumbled. "Now I feel bad about it."

Without warning, she ripped the front part of his shirt open. Aang covered up by instinct.

"First you feel me naked with your feet, and now you're using your hands?" he (Aang would deny it later, but Toph insisted that he had) squealed. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, lighten up, Twinkle Toes."

Before he could protest any more, she ripped a wide strip of cloth from the sheets, and firmly wrapped it around his bruise, ensuring it was tight enough.

"All right… I'm no healer, but this should do the trick," she grinned, clapping him on the shoulder, which, in turn, forced him to the ground, wincing in pain.

"Oh… ehehe, sorry about that, Twinkle Toes."

* * *

><p>"'Morning!" Toph said brightly to a group of nervous and rather surly young adults. Zuko and Katara, who had wisely chosen to sit on opposite sides of the table, exchanged worried glances, while Sokka and Suki were barely managing to stay awake. Apparently, Suki had been getting some strange cravings, which of course, led to Sokka getting up at 4 in the morning, to find stewed ocean kumquats and fried chicken feet.<p>

"So… what's on the menu for breakfast?" Toph said cheerfully, ignoring the dark aura that was starting to surround the table. Aang quietly drank his tea, making sure to avoid gazes with everyone, especially Katara and Zuko. As if to answer her question, a servant quickly walked in, and placed a plate of something in front of her, which smelled delicious, but that was the last thing on her mind.

Toph blew in frustration, her bangs flying up, before she slammed her hands on the table, promptly waking and startling everyone.

"Oh, I see how this is," she fumed, much to everyone's confusion. "You're all being so pigheaded you're not even going to _bother_ to pretend to put a smile on?"

"Toph-"

"Why are you-?"

"Now you look here!" she stomped her foot, effectively shutting everyone up. "I flew all the way from home, where I've been looking forward to this meeting for a _year_, and I don't care who's dating who, or what's happening to your social lives, but for now…"

Her voice trailed off, and she gazed at them pleadingly. "We're best friends, aren't we? Aren't we supposed to love each other no matter what? We're _family_, right?"

Katara, with her everlasting optimism and leadership, rose first. "You're right, Toph. We'd better learn to stick together through this."

Zuko nodded. "I agree. And sorry for being such a downer, everyone."

No one had any comment for that (clearly, they were all thinking back to when Zuko was _really_ angsty).

"Well, I'm all for re-bonding!" Suki said brightly. "And Sokka is too!"

The reason she had to answer for Sokka was because his face was currently buried his bowl of jook, snoring loudly. Everyone then turned to look at Aang. He looked up, clearly still hurting, but managed a brief, curt nod.

"All right!" Toph cheered. "Let's go do stuff like we did in the old days!"

"…run from the Fire Nation?"

"Fight my crazy family?"

"Escape from prisons and ambushes?"

"…" (Of course, that was Aang).

Toph shook her head. "Dang, what's wrong with you stuffy people? If Sokka was awake…"

Everyone's faces lit up at once.

"_Beach party!_"

* * *

><p>"<em>Everyone<em>!"

The whole Gaang looked up at the sound of Sokka's shrill holler.

"Everyone, come look!"

Of course, they all dashed over… only to see a blushing Suki and a proudly grinning Sokka.

"Uh… Sokka…" Zuko cringed. "What _is_ that?"

Sokka patted his, uh, sand sculpture before beaming even more brightly. "This… is our unborn child!"

"…"

"Oh no…" Toph clucked sympathetically. "Suki… it looks like the baby's going to get all of Sokka's looks after all."

Sokka smiled proudly. "Why, thank y- _Toph!_"

Everyone burst out into loud laughter, and Toph couldn't help but to feel that warm, gushy feeling she insisted would never run in her veins.

_Now **that's **what I'm talking about._

* * *

><p>"Ahhh!" Aang sighed in content as he patted his full stomach. "That was great!"<p>

Zuko smiled. "Glad you enjoyed the dinner."

He also seemed very glad that Aang was speaking civilly to him again and ordered a waiter to bring out the after-dinner meal. Katara, however, was not looking as relieved.

"Um, Toph…?" Katara hesitantly asked as servers brought out bowls of fresh fruit for dessert. "Can I talk to you later?"

Toph, sensing Katara's worried voice and pounding heart, waved a hand. "Sure thing, Sweetness."

* * *

><p>After dinner, Katara, Toph and Suki all gathered into Toph's room since it was the most private (Sokka and Suki were sharing a room, while Katara's quarters had a secret tunnel that was connected to Zuko's… <em>ahem<em>).

"What's on your mind?" Suki asked curiously as Katara fidgeted. She tapped her fingers together and crinkled her brow as Toph tapped her foot impatiently.

"Geez, I can practically smell the worry off ya, Sweetness. Let's get on with it."

"Toph," Katara finally blurted out. "Do you like Aang?"

"…"

"…"

Toph could almost hear the wind die around her ears. She could barely breathe, much less muster up a snarky response.

_H- How… How **dare**…?_

She finally settled for, "_What?_"

Katara swallowed. "I just want to know…"

"_Look here, Sugar Queen_," Toph spat venomously. "Whether I have feelings for Twinkle Toes are not, it is definitely _none of your damn business_. What's the matter, want to make sure even your exes get happy endings?"

"Toph," Suki tried calming the enraged Earthbender, but the petite girl was too furious.

"You have _no right_ to ask me that type of question! You dump Aang and you're trying to abandon him to me?"

"I'm not abandoning him!" It was only the tears in Katara's voice that finally calmed Toph down. Katara was beside herself now, sobbing loudly into her hands.

"I couldn't help it! I know I did something wrong! But it was just… Zuko was so… and Aang…"

Toph, with the help of her feet, her ears, and her plain common sense, began to realize just how much the guilt of the affair with Zuko had on Katara. She probably looked as horrible as she felt.

"Look…" Toph sighed. "I'm sorry I got mad. I'll answer you honestly, I don't know what my feelings for Aang are, but I don't think I like him that way."

"_Really_?"

Toph jumped at Suki's shocked tone and immediately grew defensive. "What?"

"Well… no, it's just… you two are so close. I thought you must have felt some spark."

"I…" Toph hesitated. "It's complicated. I don't know, I don't really know if I want to risk bringing in stupid girl feelings and ruin this awesome dynamic friendship we have, ya know?"

_And thank god I didn't jump on those girl feelings or your little bundle of joy might not be here today_ she added silently, remembering back to the small twang of hurt she felt when she heard Sokka and Suki had gotten married.

"Oh, but friendship is good enough!" Katara hurriedly wiped her tears. "Toph, listen… please… protect Aang for me?"

Toph stared at nothing, then threw her hands up. "Okay, you lost me. Protect him from what?"

"Just… Just be there for him," Katara implored. "When you stopped his Avatar state, it was… I realized then that I can't protect him anymore. He might… He might just need protection from me."

She whispered the last sentence tearfully, but Toph understood.

"So… So you just want me to stick by Twinkles? Sure," she shrugged. Katara nodded.

"Thank you," she said wearily. "I just have to make sure I don't feel like… like I'm leaving him because I want to."

Toph stretched and gave a loud, fake yawn. "Well… I gotta hit the hay. See ya tomorrow!"

She quickly dashed out before either girl could respond and ran to her room, her heart full of turmoil and confusion.

* * *

><p>"<em>Toph…"<em>

_The girl ran as fast as she could and began wading through the lake. She didn't care if she was in a long dress and was constantly tripping over it or that she could see right now. She was in danger and she could have her face stolen if she stumbled for too long._

"_Toph… come back," Koh's smooth voice carried out over the water. "Let me take you in me…"_

"_Get away from me!" she yelled, hiding the fear in her voice._

"_Oh, Toph… poor vulnerable Toph Bei Fong," Koh chuckled, his face slit opening to reveal the gorgeous Water Tribe woman Toph had been getting to know as of late. "You're so brave, aren't you? Aren't you, little girl?"_

"_What do you want from me?" she screamed._

"_Oh, T- I just w- you-"_

"_Wh- What?"_

"_Toph… Toph!"_

* * *

><p>"No!" she screamed, sitting up.<p>

"Toph!"

She blindly felt around until she recognized the heartbeat under her fingertips. She let out a frustrated scream, not caring if she woke anyone up, and Aang let her. To his surprise, no one came.

_Probably too busy wrapped up in each other_ he thought bitterly, then felt bad that he was mooning over that while his best friend was suffering from bigger issues.

"Why?" she cried. "Why does he want me so badly?"

She couldn't stop the tears sliding down her cheeks or the shaking in her small body. It just wasn't _fair_. What had she done that was causing her to suffer like this?

To her surprise, Aang pulled her close, into a deep hug and she could hear him murmur softly, "I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry."

She let the warmth cover her and couldn't stop a strangled sob and soon, the tears pent up from her frustration, her loneliness and her fear began to tumble out.

"I hate that thing!" she sobbed. "Make him go away!"

Aang swallowed.

"I will," he vowed.

It was time to contact the Spirit World and get some answers.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about the late update! Hope you like!

* * *

><p>"Twinkle Toes."<p>

The bald monk paused in his movements. He had been fastening his robe on when Toph interrupted him. He looked down at the blind girl, who had just awaken and was still in her makeshift bed on the floor.

Toph took a deep breath.

"Would you do me a favor?"

"Toph, I'm going to go talk to the spirits today," he assured her. "Don't worry."

"It's not that… there's something else."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Zuko…"<p>

The Fire Lord looked up from his documents.

"Oh… hi, Aang," he said uncomfortably. Aang tried to look nonchalant, but it grew hard to do when Katara walked in.

"Zuko, I brought you a cup of-" she paused when she saw Aang standing next to Zuko's desk. "Aang…?"

He pointedly turned his back to her. "Zuko, is there a spiritual place near here where I can contact the past Avatars?"

"Well… I would recommend the temple, but there's still some construction going on there, so you might get distracted…" Zuko pondered, stroking his chin. "What about the Clearing?"

"Clearing?" Aang asked curiously. Zuko nodded.

"Behind the palace, there's a garden. If you walk past the duck pond and through the small gate next to it, you'll see a little field, surrounded by trees. We call it the Clearing. Uncle said there's a good chance it has positive spiritual energy since it remained pretty much untouched, even during the war."

Aang gave him a surprised look. "How can that be?"

Zuko shrugged. "You're the one that can talk to spirits."

Aang let out a humorless laugh. "Good point. All right, I'll try it. Thanks."

He paused next to Katara, and swallowed.

"I wish you… all the luck," he said quietly, trying his best not to sound bitter. Katara bit her lip.

"Oh, Aang-"

He left, unwilling to hear the rest of her statement.

He sighed. _Toph… was that enough?_

* * *

><p>Aang gazed around the Clearing, eyes widening, and he couldn't help a grin. Momo chattered happily on his shoulder, and the monk softly murmured, "Agreed, buddy."<p>

Iroh had been right. The Clearing was a place that had been touched with a positive spirit, there was no doubt. It was fields and fields of lush, green grass, grass that looked so smooth and soft, Aang was actually tempted to lie down and sleep in it. There was a gently burbling river next to him, the water looking clear and pure. Aang, suddenly overcome with a fresh giddiness, began to waterbend, allowing the energy of the water to cleanse his spirit and soothe his anger. His pent-up stress was slowly dissolving, and he allowed his muscles to release the coils.

After a while, he allowed the water to rejoin its flowing home, and made his way to the center of the Clearing.

"All right, Momo," he said seriously. "Let's do our best."

The lemur chirruped in response and Aang seated himself, closing his eyes.

_Roku… Kyoshi… I need to speak with you. Avatars… I need your help again._

* * *

><p>Toph made her way towards the training arena. She was tired of feeling scared! She wanted to feel the firm earth under her feet again, feel the tremors resounding through her body, feel <em>invincible<em> again… until she felt something else. She swiftly hid herself behind a marble column and just in time, as a small group of women walked by.

"Did you _see _the Avatar?"

"All I can say is…" one of the ladies-in-waiting tittered. "I sure am relieved this war is over and we're on the same side now."

"I'll say… hmmm… he definitely is not a child anymore," the first woman said dreamily. "Those muscles…"

"Oh, give it up, Izea," scoffed another lady. "Everyone knows he's chasing after the waterbender."

From her tone, it was clear that she was still not quite over her prejudices against the other nations. Izea scoffed right back.

"Shows what you know, Kaza," she said loftily. "Unlike the maids, we servers have a much more personal relationship with the actual royals."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaza demanded. Izea smirked.

"I happen to know that there's something brewing between the waterbender… and Fire Lord Zuko. I saw it, a few days ago. The Avatar was beside himself, really… the dining area is still going under construction. He was _furious_."

"Lord Zuko wouldn't lower himself to those filthy standards!" Kaza said scandalously. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Kaza stood up and dusted herself off. "I swear that bump in the ground wasn't there a few seconds ago… anyways, does that mean the Avatar's free?"

"I hope so!"

"Oh, come on, Kaza," the lady-in-waiting grinned. "We all know how prejudiced you are. Like you'd really _want_ the Avatar?"

"Hey, he's a firebender, isn't he?" Kaza snapped. "Besides, he defeated Fire Lord Ozai himself… and that was when he was still a child. Imagine the amount of power he has now."

"Forget power," Izea grew very giggly again. "Did you see his arms? If I were held in those arms, I think I'd lose control and- ow!"

"Izea, what now?"

"I tripped over something too," Izea frowned in confusion. "What is it with all these mysterious bumps in the ground?"

"Anyways, I've got to get back to work," Kaza waved. "Bye."

"See you."

The three women split ways and disappeared. Toph silently smoothed the ground back to the way it was, and stood rooted to the spot, unable to find the willpower to move. Eventually, she spat into a corner, fists clenched. She whirled around and stomped back towards her room. She was suddenly in no mood to train anymore.

One of the reasons she hated being blind was just because it made her able to hear certain things that she would have preferred not hearing.

* * *

><p>"…eungh…"<p>

Aang shook his head, and winced as he tried to calm the painful pounding in his brain.

"What happened…?" he muttered. No trip to the Spirit World had ever been this strenuous. Momo let out a small chirrup next to him, and then flew up to land gently on his shoulder. Aang smiled reassuringly at him, and then turned to gaze around the Spirit World. It looked the same as usual: quiet, peaceful, and golden.

"Roku?" he called out tentatively. There was no response… until…

Aang jumped as something rustled in the bushes behind him.

"Still your hand, Avatar Aang."

He relaxed. "Avatar Kyoshi."

She nodded. "You come with questions."

"Where's Avatar Roku?"

"Come," she beckoned. "There is much to discuss."

He tilted his head in confusion, but followed her down a long path.

* * *

><p>Aang blinked in surprise. Kyoshi had swept aside a whole screen of leaves, to reveal not only Roku, but Avatars Kuruk and Yangchen as well.<p>

"Why are all of you here?" Aang blurted out. Roku smiled gently at him.

"Sit, Aang. We shall discuss after you get comfortable."

Aang awkwardly sat (it was hard to get comfortable in the Spirit World, where he had no bending, and was forced to sit on a moss floor), but raised his head to ask his questions.

"We are here… because we have been discussing your problem, Avatar Aang," Yangchen spoke up softly. Aang looked at her in surprise. It hadn't occurred to him that the other Avatars would already be talking about the issue at hand.

"We are discussing it, because… we do not know the answer. We do not know why Koh is troubling the Earthbender girl."

Aang sighed. He surmised as much. After all, Koh had too many faces; no one could ever tell the truth with the enormous worm.

"We are aware of one thing, however," Kuruk spoke up. "This is not Koh's idea."

"That's what I thought," Aang grimly answered. "Any ideas?"

"No… it is a powerful force, one that even the Avatar can not control. We believe that is why you had such trouble coming here," Roku admitted. "That being does not wish for you to find the truth."

"You will need to speak with Koh himself," Kyoshi advised. Aang scrunched his face in disgust.

"Oh… great," he tried to say enthusiastically, but it came out more in the tone of one who was told to go clean the Air Bison stables.

"Remember what I have told you," Roku murmured before the four Avatars stood. "Show no emotion. Or he will surely steal your face."

With that, the four Avatars melted away as if they were never there. Aang swallowed nervously.

He had been hoping to never see Koh for the rest of this lifetime. It looked like he was not going to be so lucky.

He waited until Momo crawled up onto his shoulder, then made his way to Koh's dwellings.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Sparky…"<p>

Zuko looked up in surprise. "Toph? Come in."

Toph barged in, and flopped onto a large chair in the Fire Lord's study.

"Smells nice in here," she commented offhandedly. Zuko cocked his head.

"Something the matter?"

Toph blew an annoying bang out of her face.

"What gives you that idea?"

"You look pretty annoyed," he responded. "Want something to drink?"

"Break out the fire cider," Toph shrugged and soon, the two friends were sipping the hot, sweet, spicy drink.

"So what's up?"

"…I'm trying to come up with ideas for Aang to forget about Katara," she said bluntly. "Got any ideas?"

Zuko's mouth dropped. "Seriously?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Toph snapped. "That's why I want to know if you have any ideas."

Zuko hesitated. "I don't know… I mean… I do want Aang to let go of Katara… but I don't want it to be because of me."

"Huh?"

"I want Aang to let go of Katara because he heals and gets over it. Not because I meddle with his life and convince him to forget about her."

Toph let out a slight derisive laugh. "Good thinking, Sparks. We just have one problem though."

"What?"

"Aang will _never_ heal from Katara."

Zuko almost dropped his fire cider. "Why do you say that?"

"I think you're forgetting something," Toph explained. "Katara wasn't just Aang's crush. Katara was- my bad, is- Aang's first love, current love, mother, sister, friend, and savior. I heard you were there when Katara first found him in the iceberg."

He winced. That was back when he was young, naïve, and stupidly dangerous, a time he preferred not remembering.

"Yeah, that's true…" Zuko's good eye widened. "So… you're saying…"

"Yup. The only way to get Aang to heal from Katara alone is for him to completely sever his ties with her. And I'm not letting that happen."

Zuko remained silent for a moment, and although she couldn't see it, she could almost feel the scrutinizing gaze he was giving her.

"Wh- What?"

"You… really care about him, don't you?"

She sent him a hard glare. "Yeah. Because he's my _best friend_."

"Really?" Zuko threw back, hiding his fear of the powerful Earthbender who looked murderous. "That's the only reason?"

Suddenly, Toph slumped. "Why does it matter?"

Zuko hesitated. "It's just… wouldn't it make more sense to try to, uh, you know, try for Aang, than to get him to forget about Katara?"

"No," Toph's voice was hard again. "If we do that, Aang will just use me as a way to forget about Katara, not because he actually likes me. You're misunderstanding this, Zuko. I'm not doing this to have a piece of the Avatar. I'm doing it because I want Aang to stop this moping and become the usual Twinkle Toes I know."

Zuko gaped at her. _Toph… you really care about Aang, don't you?_

Finally, the flustered Fire Lord managed a quick, "Sorry".

"Sorry for what?"

"I just… I know what it's like to feel like nothing's ever going your way."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you do… care to share?"

"…I'm sure you noticed that Mai wasn't here," he said abruptly. Toph gave an affirming nod. He took a deep breath and continued.

"It was my fault," he murmured, his voice holding a hard edge. "I shouldn't have led her on like that. She didn't like Katara from the beginning, and she had her suspicions. And… one day… she walked in on us."

"Walked in on…?"

Zuko swallowed and Toph's unseeing eyes widened… before narrowing mischievously.

"Well, well!" she chortled. "Didn't know you had it in ya!" she chortled, slapping him on the back. He laughed weakly.

"Well… I mean... anyways, she saw us… you know. She didn't say anything, though, just ran away. Later that night though…" Zuko heaved a sigh. "I went to check on Katara,-"

"Ohohoho!"

"…and…"

"…and?" Toph prompted.

"Mai was standing over her, a knife in her hand," he said grimly. "It was pretty obvious what she was going to do."

There was an awkward moment of silence until Toph finally raised her head.

"So what'd you do?"

"Well… I was going to banish her, but she asked for one last favor. She said… She pointed out that it was my fault, and said she didn't regret what she did. So… she asked me to pardon her. She asked for a pardon just that once, and so… so I did. And the next day, Mai said she couldn't stand it here anymore, and she just… left."

"Where'd she go?"

"She said she was going to the Fire Nation colonies and spend time with her family," he muttered, sighing as he massaged his temples. "I… I lost more than my ex-girlfriend that day, though. Mai was… all I really had of my past life. And I was sort of hoping to hold on to it."

"…are you an idiot?"

"Huh? Ow!"

Toph dusted her hands after firmly whacking him on the head.

"You big nincompoop," she rolled her eyes. "Your past life? What would Iroh say if he heard you right now?"

"…that I need some tea?"

"…well, probably that too, but what else?"

"That… That the past is holding me back."

"And?" Toph prompted.

"And… that if I don't let go of the past, the future will be unclear."

"_Exactly_," Toph said in exasperation.

"…I don't get it."

"Look, Sparks. You can go ahead and grieve that Needles is gone… but it's not going to change the fact that life's going on without you. And Sugar Queen is moving along too… are you going to try to hold on to your violent dad, your insane sister, your emotionless ex, and your hot-as-hell country… or are you going to move along with her?"

Zuko smiled, slightly confidently. "You're right. Thanks, Toph."

"Anytime," she grunted. She hadn't exactly gotten the answer she had come in for, but it was nice to know she had helped someone else at least.

* * *

><p>I know... so random! _ Sorry. I promise things will become clearer in the next chapter!<p>

See you next time!


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, well…"

Aang kept his tongue bitten down, hoping he seemed bored and emotionless. Apparently it was working, because Koh simply stared at him, crawling around.

"I have been expecting you, my young Avatar."

_I'm not yours,_ he longed to bite out, but continued to hold his tongue (literally between his teeth). Koh circled around him, hungrily, and Aang had to force himself to swallow before speaking.

"I have come to ask you about my friend."

"Ah, yes…" Koh's voice slithered out. "The young Earthbender… beautiful, isn't she…?"

Aang remained silent, hoping that his face was still stoic.

"She was such fun… such a strong, powerful bender… and yet, still, when you look at it…"

Koh suddenly whirled towards Aang, face morphed into a middle-aged woman.

"She's just a little girl!" he/she screamed, tears running down his/her face. "Why does she have to be hurt?!"

The Avatar remained quiet, but felt something akin to sickness in his stomach. He didn't even want to know the situation in which Koh stole the face of a sobbing woman.

"I'm sure you've come to ask me that," Koh said silkily, transforming back to his typical Noh mask. "Unfortunately, young Avatar, I can not tell you this."

Aang made sure to hide the disappointment and frustration welling in him. Was _anyone_ going to tell him who the hell was bothering Toph?

"But… I can tell you where to find the person," Koh said casually. Aang kept his face blank, but his voice couldn't hide the suspicion.

"You would do that?"

"Of course," Koh's voice was too sly. "However… it wouldn't matter. Unless you figure out who it is, you won't be able to see her."

"_Her_!?"

Koh whipped around, but Aang had already pulled his surprised glance in, looking emotionless yet again.

"Hmm… I suppose I must call that being… 'her'… 'it' might offend that being, really…"

"All right. Where can I find her?"

"Follow the path," Koh nodded towards the exit. "When you reach the edge of the glen, fall off the cliff and you shall land in her garden. But… like I said. Unless you figure out who it is yourself, you will not be able to see her."

"How can I figure out who she is? Do I know her?"

Koh's mask almost seemed to be grinning.

"You know her… and yet you do not. She is the answer to all purpose… and purpose only answers to her. You control her, but she already makes her own decisions."

_What does that even mean!?_ He wanted to scream, but he simply nodded.

"I thank you. I will return now."

He left, and it was just as well; he didn't see Koh switch faces into an old man who pulled it into a rather evil smirk…

* * *

><p>Aang followed the path as Koh indicated, and finally came to a cliff. Momo chirruped nervously, and Aang was tempted to agree.<p>

When he looked over, all he saw was pure, white mist, something that signified horror once he fell in. After all, he wasn't sure what was on the other side.

_You know her…and yet you do not. She is the answer to all purpose… and purpose only answers to her. You control her, but she already makes her own decisions._

Aang puzzled over the hint Koh had given him. After half an hour of sitting there on the edge of the cliff while scratching his head, he finally threw his hands up in exasperation. He was frustrated and tired and getting irritated. He absentmindedly watched as Momo chased a flittering soul, the wispy cloud escaping the chirruping lemur's grasp.

He was tempted to simply give up and return home to try and come back another day, but then he remembered Toph's tear-stained face, her sobs, her pleads, and somehow, he couldn't bring himself to go back to the real world, go back to tell her how he had failed.

He took a deep breath. He couldn't figure this out, but… at this rate, he would simply wither away where he sat.

He looked down over the edge of the cliff. Somehow, the idea didn't seem so terrifying with his airbending, but he was in the Spirit World. He couldn't play with the air around him like he wanted. He cast a glance to Momo.

"You stay here," he said softly. "I'll be back, Momo."

Momo cocked his head to the side, wide eyes luminescent and blinking. Aang gave his pet lemur a soft smile before taking a deep breath and looking over the edge again.

_At least now I know how Toph feels whenever she rides Appa,_ he thought rather dryly. _Blind and no idea what's waiting as I zip through the open air._

He took a few steps back, took a breath, and ran.

He ran towards the mist, towards the answer, towards… towards…

And just as Aang flung himself over the edge, it suddenly seemed to make sense. Koh's voice echoed in his mind.

_You know her…and yet you do not. She is the answer to all purpose… and purpose only answers to her. You control her, but she already makes her own decisions._

His eyes widened.

_Of course… how could I be so __**stupid**__?_

He began to fall at an alarming rate, but he wasn't scared anymore. He bellowed out the name of who he was supposed to see, and willingly dived down through the mist.

* * *

><p>Toph clenched her fist, just as Zuko slammed his flamed palm against the boulder flying towards him. Toph smirked.<p>

"Nice, but… what about this?"

She brought both fists low to her hips, elbows behind her, then brought them straight down, before slashing the air with her right hand. Zuko gracefully danced around each bump in the ground, looking like fire in a human form, teasingly avoiding all the clumsy lumps on the ground.

He then retaliated, roundhouse kicking the air, a streak of fire following it. Toph put up a wall, the fire harmlessly fizzing out against the barrier of earth. Zuko grinned, sweat rolling down his face and his bare chest.

"I think that's enough for today."

Toph gave him a strange look. "I think so too. Now quit it."

Zuko tilted. "Quit what?"

Toph's eyes widened in fear. Zuko sounded genuinely puzzled. Which meant…

Oh, no… it was happening again.

Zuko gave her a strange look… until he noticed something that made him freeze. The ground under Toph's bare feet was glowing. Glowing… orange. As if someone was lighting a fire right under the ground she was standing upon. She desperately moved away, her feet beginning to feel the heat, but the circle of orange light persistently followed her every time she took a step. She tried to punch herself up onto a pillar of earth, but the circle of orange just stayed right under her feet.

Toph couldn't help but to feel angry and betrayed. The earth was her element; her home. But it was rejecting her orders to stop burning her feet.

"Ow!" she cried as the heat began to increase, burning through the earth that caked the bottom of her feet. She desperately jumped up to get some relief, but it felt like stepping on a thousand lit candles whenever she landed back on the earth.

Zuko tried to bend away the fire under her feet, but it refused to respond to him. Whatever that thing was… it wasn't fire.

_Make it stop… make it stop! _Toph silently begged in her mind. She sat down and tried to lift her feet into the ground, but the circle of orange soon followed, encircling her feet and burning them as she screamed in agony.

Zuko ran over to the huge pillar Toph had made, desperately looking up. Toph was on the top, trying various methods to get the fire to stop burning her feet. She worked quickly, trying to ignore the scorching heat.

She tried cloaking her feet with cooled earth, tried parting the earth to see the source of the heat… she tried to focus, but the heat was blurring her 'vision' of the earth beneath her feet.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and she tried simply running away from it… and ended up tripping over the edge of the pillar. All she could think of was the blessed swift moment of relief she felt, for her blistered, caked feet as she fell through the air. Zuko caught her with a grunt before he began to run towards the palace as fast as he could, the strange orange circle nowhere in sight.

"H- Help," was all Toph managed to say before she fainted from the sheer pain. Zuko ran faster, and when he passed a nearby servant, he snapped at him to immediately bring the court physician and Katara to Toph's room.

* * *

><p>Aang felt shaken as he watched the scene. Toph's feet were basically her eyes; how could this sort of cruel thing happen to her?<p>

"How could you do this?" he asked aloud, trembling in anger, before slashing at the tranquil pond he had just seen that horrifying scene. The beautiful woman standing behind him smiled, not the least bit fazed.

"It's my job."

Aang whirled around. "Just because you're Fate doesn't mean you get to do this to people!"

"Wrong," the spirit of fate sang. "It's in the job description!"

"Stop it!" Aang shouted. Toph had been living through hell recently, and this woman was _laughing_ about it?

"Now, now, calm yourself, Avatar," the beautiful woman smiled at him. She tossed her long, dark hair behind her shoulder, before gesturing to a tea table that hadn't been there before.

"Why don't we speak over some tea?" she said cheerfully, as if she hadn't just tortured his best friend moments ago. Aang glared at her, but did as she said. If she was indeed Fate… he wasn't sure how powerful she was.

"Now, now, I don't bite," Fate smiled at him, a smile that looked mysterious, beautiful, and very dangerous all at the same time. Her blue-as-the-ocean eyes seemed to glitter for a moment before she began to fuss over the tea. "Sugar? Milk?"

"No, thank you," Aang responded, struggling to keep his voice under control. He was the Avatar… he couldn't let his anger blind him into offending a spirit, especially one that practically held Toph in the palm of her hand. Fate nodded, her billowing cream-white robes floating around her as she gracefully settled into her seat.

"Now, I assume you have questions," Fate smiled. "Ask away."

Aang gave her a wary look. "That's it? I can ask and you'll be honest?"

"Hmm… let's just say that I won't lie."

Aang nodded, his mind whirling with questions before he finally settled for one.

"Why did you ask Koh to target Toph?"

"Why, because he was free."

Aang gritted his teeth. So this was what she meant by honest. The gorgeous woman smiled mockingly at him, showing a row of pearly white teeth that looked just a little too sharp to be human.

"You're going to have to ask a little more specifically, Avatar."

Aang took a deep breath.

"Why is Toph getting attacked?"

"Because the forces of nature are grabbing her. Didn't you see that mud-?"

"Okay, okay," Aang hastily waved a hand. "Forget that question."

"You are missing the main question, Avatar," Fate shook her head. "The question is not 'why is she being attacked'. The question is…?"

She gave Aang an expectant look, and he slowly pondered it.

"…who is Toph?" he asked quietly.

Fate smiled. "Well, now, that is an interesting question."

"I already know you're attacking Toph. I already know you've gotten Koh to do it. But… you wouldn't just target Toph for fun. So… that means there's something about Toph she hasn't told us. Hasn't told _me_."

Fate smiled even wider. "Well done, Avatar! Almost full marks!"

"…almost?"

"That was the right question to ask, and you are right, there is something about Toph Bei Fong that you don't know, but she did not purposefully hide it from you," Fate explained patiently. "Toph herself does not know this about herself."

"…what… what is it?" Aang asked, almost afraid. Fate gave him a shrewd look.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"…"

_Do I really want to know?_

The reasonable side of him practically screamed _Of course I do!_ How could he not? His friend was suffering, was constantly tortured.

But…

Aang couldn't help but to feel that if he accepted Fate's offer, something would change. He would learn something about Toph that nobody, not even she herself knew.

He took a deep breath. He was such a coward. Toph was in pain, was constantly living in fear, and he was being hesitant just because he was too afraid?

"I want to know," he finally said. "Please… tell me."

Fate smiled at him.

"Well… our story starts a little while back."

"How far back?"

"Hmm… about 320 years."

Aang gave her a stunned look. "Toph wasn't even born then! None of us _existed_ then!"

"Ah, how naïve you are, young Avatar," Fate shook her head. "_You_ existed back then."

"As… As…" Aang did some quick calculations in his head. "As Avatar Kuruk?"

"Yes indeed," Fate smiled. "My, aren't you quick-witted."

Aang glared at her, not amused by her obvious teasing of time.

"One thing you should know about the strings of fate are that I don't actually affect them all that much. Fate is simply that: something that you create for yourself. I am the embodiment of that, of people's determination to create their own future."

Fate took a deep breath, a slight frown tugging at her perfect, rose-red lips.

"Avatar Kuruk and his fiancée Ummi… were fated to be together. The strings of fate said so; after all, Avatar Kuruk had given up his carefree ways and was dedicated to his new bride. But…"

Fate lowered her eyes. "Although they were fated to be together… they weren't destined for each other."

"…how is that different?" Aang shook his head in confusion.

Fate clicked her tongue impatiently. "Fate is the one that determined if they would be together. And they were, weren't they? They met. They fell in love. Kuruk gave up his horrid ways. He worked hard to win her heart. He fought off the other suitors. It was because he did all this that he wrote his own fate, by vying for the hand of Ummi of the Southern Water Tribe."

"However… Destiny is the one that decides if they _end up_ together. After all, no matter how hard Kuruk works, it wouldn't work out if Ummi contracted some deadly disease, or got crushed by an iceberg, would it? Destiny is the one that determines those. And Destiny… decided that Kuruk didn't get punished enough for his past misdeeds. Destiny decreed for Koh the Face-Stealer to take Ummi's face. Kuruk went to argue his case, and… Destiny cursed him to forever wander the Spirit World, unable to find peace unless Kuruk finally killed Koh and reclaimed Ummi's face."

"Of course, it's too late now…" Fate said rather bitterly. "Ummi was already barely alive when she was dragged to the Spirit World, and too much time has passed. Kuruk, however, continues to search."

Aang silently sat there, slowly processing all the information.

"So… So, what you're saying is…" he struggled to finally reach a clear, final conclusion. "You're saying that Kuruk and Ummi were fated to be together, but they didn't end up together."

"Correct."

"But… But what does that have to do with Toph?"

And suddenly, it seemed very, very obvious to Aang.

"No…"

Fate gave him an unfathomable look. "Have you figured it out, Avatar?"

"It can't be," he shook his head. "It's not possible."

"But it is," Fate said, voice quiet.

"How… How…?"

He fought against the truth, but he grew dizzy just thinking about it. There was no other explanation. Fate gave him a single glance before finally voicing out loud the truth that had sank into his mind.

"Toph Bei Fong is the reincarnation of Ummi."

* * *

><p>"<em>What happened<em>?!" Katara shrieked when she saw the state of Toph's blistered feet. She immediately grabbed the nearest water source (from a vase of fire lilies) and began to administer her healing to Toph's feet. Zuko grimly shook his head.

"I don't know… we'd better get her to the infirmary."

Katara nodded as Zuko carried the unconscious Bei Fong girl on his back, Katara close behind, still trying to heal her feet.

* * *

><p>"But… that doesn't make sense!"<p>

Aang knew he was shouting, but he couldn't care less. His heart was hammering, a strange taste filling his mouth.

"Why not?"

"W- Well… Toph is an Earthbender!" Aang shouted, vaguely aware that he was probably babbling. "And she's blind! And-"

"Of all people, I thought the _Avatar_ would know," Fate interrupted. "That reincarnation does not mean you return as the same person. Tell me, Avatar, were you an Airbender in every past life?"

"N- No, but-"

"And were you male in every single one of those?"

"…no. But still-!"

"And were your principles always the same?"

Aang thought back to how the past Avatars had advised him to kill the Fire Lord, and how he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"…no," he admitted, finally falling silent.

Fate sighed, a note of sympathy crawling into her voice. "You are Kuruk's reincarnation. Toph is Ummi's. I think you know what that means."

"…I have to… I have to…"

Aang shook his head. "But she's my best friend! I don't love her that way!"

"You two will be together!" Fate said sharply. "If not, you are writing your fate in the wrong direction!"

"What…?"

"You care about her more than you realize," the woman said, expression softening. "You just refuse to admit it."

"That's not true," he said fiercely. "I don't love her that way. I _don't_."

"Oh? So does that mean you still have feelings for the Waterbender?"

"…"

Aang lowered his head. What could he say? He didn't know what he felt for Katara anymore.

"Choose wisely, Avatar," Fate's voice came out in a hiss. "Or you will regret it."

Aang hesitated.

* * *

><p>"Zuko…? Zuko!" Katara screamed. "Stop!"<p>

"Wh- What?! What is it?" Zuko whipped around, Toph still on his back. Katara's eyes were wide with fright.

"The blood… the blood isn't flowing in Toph's feet anymore!"

"…what?!" Zuko quickly lowered Toph on the ground, and he suddenly realized that the Bei Fong girl was quickly turning cold.

"What… What…?"

And Zuko and Katara both realized, at the same, heart-stopping moment, that Toph wasn't breathing.


End file.
